A Quick Kiss, If You Please
by Shira Lansys
Summary: Dominique is dating Lorcan, Lily likes Dominique, Dominique is oblivious, and everyone is fine with the the intracacies being hidden from sight. They're hidden, that is, until Dom asks Lily for help with a very personal problem, and Lily just can't say no. Femslash, cousincest, exceedingly M-rated. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe you're going out with Lorcan!" Lily exclaims once again. Dominique grins at her, a little bashfully. "And," Lily continues, "that you didn't tell me!"

Dominique's expression turns sheepish. "I really am sorry about that," she repeats. "I could have sworn I mentioned it to you. And anyway, you figured it out, so it doesn't really matter."

"That's not the point! It was insulting." But there is a smile on her face as she says it. "I'm supposed to be your best friend."

Dominique doesn't reply "_But you are_" to that; she doesn't need to. They both know there is no one else who can stand between them, and even though Lily can't help but feel a small stab of jealousy at the fact that Dominique has a boyfriend, she knows that what Dominique and Lorcan has is a very different – and less permanent – relationship when compared to what the two cousins' share. Being of the same age, she and Dominique had spent their childhood together, and not even the fact that she'd been placed in Slytherin when they came to Hogwarts could dampen their friendship.

Lily is, and always had been, determined that nothing will ever come between them. Not their houses; not Dominique's boyfriend; not even her immense, long-term crush on the very girl she was talking to. Nothing.

A quiet falls over them. Not a silence, because in the trees surrounding them birds are calling to each other, and the delicate waves of the lake lap at the shore within hearing distance from where they sit. No, it is a comfortable lack of conversation that the pair could have kept up for hours.

But Lily is bursting to know the details of Dominique's new relationship, and she is still sketchy on the details. "Have you slept with him?" she asks suddenly and blushes, surprised at her own forthrightness.

"Lily!" Dominique exclaims, sounding half-shocked and half-delighted by her friend's question. "No! Of course not!"

"Really?" Lily asks slyly. "Have you done anything at all like that with him?" Her boldness is a little diminished now; while she is close enough to Dominique to ask her these questions, she can't quite bring herself to say words like "blowjob" or "handjob" now that the spontaneity of the moment has evaporated. She knows she'll be turning red even as she politely sidesteps the more vulgar words.

Dominique blushes as well and looks down at the patch of grass she is slowly destroying by picking the blades and attempting to plait them. Lily leaps upon her lack of answer and takes it as evidence.

"You have!" she exclaims. "How far have you gone?"

Dominique turns even redder. She giggles nervously, and Lily can't help but join in. It's that sort of conversation. Up until now, she's never thought that she might have a sadistic streak, but she can't deny that she's enjoying watching Dominique squirm at the interrogation. She's adorable when she goes all shy.

_No, _she thinks to herself, pushing that notion out of her head. She can't think like that. She can't afford to. Her expression turns more serious as Dominique begins to answer.

"Well, it's mostly been just kissing and stuff," she says vaguely. "And a few weeks ago he started… you know, touching me… above the waist and stuff…." She gestures vaguely to her chest, blushing crimson. Fleetingly, she looks Lily in the eye before turning away.

"Did you like it?" the other girl bursts out.

Dominique giggles nervously. "Yeah, it felt… nice, I suppose."

Lily wants to say, "I suppose?" very sternly, like she isn't going to accept that as an answer, but Dominique continues to talk, and Lily's eagerness for information overcomes her impulse. She can always find out later, anyhow. "I think he sort of wants to go further, but I'm not so sure whether I should or not."

"He's not pressuring you, is he?" Lily asks severely. "Because I can beat him up for you, if you like. Even better, I can get James to do teach me that spell where he can't say anything but swear words for days!"

"No, no!" Dominique laughs. "He's my _boyfriend, _Lily. I don't want you to hurt him – or humiliate him. And he's not pressuring me. We've barely even talked about it, to be honest. It's just that… well, whenever we have discussed going further… I get the feeling he's ready now, and he's just waiting for me to be okay with it. I don't want him to get bored while I'm still trying to decide what to do."

"Dom," Lily says seriously, sitting up. When issuing advice, it's necessary to sit up. It makes you look wiser than you you do when you're lying down. "If he's a decent guy, he'll wait. And if he doesn't, then it doesn't matter, because if he won't even let you take some time to make your mind up, then he's not someone you want to be having sex with anyway."

"Do you really think he'll wait?" Dominique asks, biting her lip.

"Of course he will," Lily says, lying back down. "If he doesn't, then he's a complete idiot. You're worth waiting for, Dominique Weasley."

"Thanks, Lil," Dom replies, and Lily has to turn her head to the side so she's facing away from Dominique, otherwise her cousin might read the sadness in the Slytherin girl's eyes.

'_I'd wait for you,' _she thinks sadly.

* * *

"Lily," Dom hisses to her friend in History of Magic. "Oi, Lily, wake up!"

"What? What?" Lily says blearily, lifting her head. "Was I snoring again?"

Dominique giggles. "No," she whispers, "but class is almost over. We've got a free period next, and I want to have a word with you. Can we talk afterwards?"

"Sure," Lily says, stifling a yawn. She'd _meant_ to go to bed early the night before, but the book had been _so _interesting that time had flown past her, and the next time she checked her watch, three hours had gone by and it was one in the morning. Still, it wasn't like sleeping in History of Magic did any harm; everyone did it at one point or another, whether they'd intended to or not.

A week had passed since their conversation by the lake, and Lily has almost completely forgotten about it. She remembers sometimes when she wonders if her best friend is still a virgin, and whether Dominique will even tell her when she isn't any longer. She likes to think that her cousin _will _talk to her about it, but she's not so sure.

The last five minutes of class drags, and not only because she's curious as to what Dominique wants to discuss with her. Binns is the most boring teacher that has ever set foot in Hogwarts, and his classes are made all the worse by the fact that he will _never leave_. If they haven't fired him in the last fifty years, the chances are that it's not going to happen in the future. Even death hadn't spared his students from his droning voice.

Finally, the bell rings and the students all get to escape Binns' and his monotonous lesson. "Thank god," Lily breathes as they squeeze through the masses of people in the corridors. "That voice is enough to drive you insane." Dominique giggles, and Lily continues to joke. "I bet his students from when he was alive threw a party when they heard he was dead. In fact, I bet one of them offed him, just because he was such a terrible teacher."

"Lily!" Dominique exclaims, still laughing. "I don't think _anyone _would kill their teacher just because they were boring."

"I dunno," Lily says, grinning. "I might've done it if he was still alive." This makes Dominique laugh even more, and Lily feels a pleased flush rise to her cheeks.

"Where are we going?" she asks curiously as Dominique purposefully leads them down a corridor.

"Room of Requirement," Dominique says, blushing. This makes Lily curious; why would the Room of Requirement make Dominique blush?

They reach the corridor where the room was concealed, and Lily waits patiently as Dominique walks back and forth three times. The door appears in the wall, and Dominique pulls it open slowly. When Lily sees what room it is, she grins. "The Room Where Everything is Hidden?" she smirks at her cousin. "I expected better of you, Dominique. What could a goody-two-shoes like you possibly be hiding in here?"

Dominique looks surprised. "You know this room? What have you hidden?"

"Nothing much," says Lily in an offhand voice. She picks up a skull and curiously examines the bottom of it. "I just like to see what other people have deemed worthy of keeping secret." Her eyes pause on what must have once been a cauldron, but is now far more melted than cauldron. "Some of it's quite interesting, don't you think? And I've always wanted to know what caused those piles of ash, but I've never worked it out."

"Maybe someone tried to burn what they'd hidden?" Dominique suggests. Then she pauses. "Wait, people look through the stuff here?" She sounds worried.

"No, I think it's just me," Lily says. "I like this room."

Dominique looks torn between concern that her secrets might not be as safe as she thought they were, and amusement that her cousin is so unusual. "Of course you do," she says dryly.

"So why did you bring me here?" Lily asks, prodding a comfortable-looking chair suspiciously. When nothing leaps out of it, she throws herself into it and sighs, fighting the urge to just… fall asleep from utter relaxation. She's very tired, and this chair is even more comfortable than it looks.

"Well, um…." Dominique shifts nervously. "I got this book out of the library, okay?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I was having a conversation with Rose," Lily yawns. "I thought this secret rendezvous was going to be interesting."

"Shush and let me finish," Dominique scolds. "I got this book out from the library – from the restricted section, and…."

She trails off again, but her last words make Lily perk up with interest. "Restricted section, huh?" she asks. "Is that why you borrowed the cloak from Albus the other day?"

"Yeah," Dominique says. "I got this book out." She walks over to a small, round table. It's wooden, and Lily can see that its varnish is beginning to fade. Upon it is piled a large assortment of objects that includes, but is not limited to, a skull, an ancient-looking candle, and what appears to the teeth of a small animal. But that's not what Dominique reaches for – she ignores the creepy objects and begins to shuffle through a stack of books.

"This one," she says, pulling an embossed red book from the middle of the pile. She hands it to Lily, who reads the title and smirks.

"Sex 101: Tips for a Witch's First Time?" she reads aloud. "You _dog_, Dom. You're actually going to have sex with Lorcan?" She tries to bury the small ache in her chest under the excitement of the situation.

Lily wouldn't have thought that Dominique could blush any more than she already was, but she is quickly proved wrong. "I- I was going to," Dominique says shyly. "But I wasn't sure how to do it, or what to do about or… anything, really." Lily grins; her cousin is so innocent. She didn't even _have _a boyfriend and she could answer some of those questions for her. "But I was reading through it, and I got to chapter two…."

Dominique trails off again, seemingly unable to finish, so Lily opens the book and flicks to contents page. "Learning to pleasure yourself?" she reads out.

Dominique nods. "It said it was a good idea to… you know, know how to do… _that_," she said. "To yourself. Before you have sex."

"You mean masturbating?" Lily asks. " Wait, you've never masturbated before?" Dominique shakes her head shyly. "Huh," she says. She glances down at the book once more. "It makes sense, I suppose," she muses. "To know how to do it to yourself, I mean." She leans back once more into the comfort of the chair. "At least that way you'd sort of have some idea of what to do."

"Yeah," Dominique says blushing. "And if gives you tips and stuff for doing it and I _tried_, I did, but I couldn't..."

"You couldn't?" Lily asks.

Dominique shakes her head. "It felt weird," she said. "Have you ever…?"

It was funny how Dominique didn't even seem to need to finish her sentences for Lily to know what she was asking. "Yeah," she says, and she knows that now _she'll _be blushing. "I thought everyone did."

"I thought that only boys could do it," Dominique blushed.

"No, girls can do it too," Lily says absently. A thought strikes her. "You don't think it's _weird _that I masturbate, do you?" she asks worriedly.

"No, no," Dominique rushes to reassure her. "I'm sure lots of people do it. And I thought you might, which was why I wanted to talk to you." She bites her lip nervously.

"I wanted to ask if you could sort of… teach me how to do it?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure about this?" Lily asks again.

Dominique nods again, but it's still a little hesitant. "I think… yes," she says. "Yes, I am sure." There's a pause, and Dominique asks, "Are _you _sure?"

_No_, Lily thinks. No, she isn't sure. She's never been more unsure of anything in her life. On one hand, she _wants _Dominique. She wants to touch and caress her. It might be wrong, but she's thought about this, and she _likes_ those thoughts.

But this is all _wrong_. It isn't supposed to happen like this. There's supposed to be gentle kissing and walks by the lake and snow fights in winter and _romantic stuff_. Not just, "Oh, Lily, be a dear and show me how to jerk off."

"I'm sure," she lies. "After all, it's just a helping hand, right? There's nothing weird about that."

"Exactly," Dominique says, bolstered by Lily's reasoning. "Nothing weird at all."

There's a short, awkward pause before Lily clears her throat. "Right then," she says, in as much of a matter-of-fact tone as she can muster. "Boundaries?"

"Boundaries?" Dominique repeats.

"Boundaries. How do you want me to do this, how far do you want me to go, etcetera."

"Oh, right. Um." Dominique floundered for an answer. "Well. Should we start with just… telling me what to do?"

"Sure, I can do that," Lily says. "Whatever you want." _I just wish you wanted more_, she thinks.

"So, no… touching then?" Dominique says, sounding more sure of herself. "Not… down there." She blushes. "And no kissing or anything."

"No," Lily agrees, fighting to keep her face a mask. "So… um… you should probably get on the bed."

"Right," Dominique agrees. It's the day after their conversation about the book on sex tips, and they're in the Room of Requirement – although the room they're in is very different to the one they were in yesterday. The Room, once again, read their minds and provided them a lowly-illuminated bedroom, with thick carpets, candles, and a luxuriously soft four-poster. Tentatively, Dominique clambers onto the oversized bed and sits there like duck in a firing line. Lily hovers beside the bed for a moment before deciding to perch herself on a conveniently placed armchair.

"Okay, so what do I do?" Dom asks.

Despite herself, Lily grins. "You really don't have a clue, do you?" she asks. Dominique shakes her head. "Right," Lily says, feeling slightly more confident (although no less awkward). "First things first. Take off the pants."

Dominique blushes. "With you looking?" she says.

Lily giggles, although she too is red in the face by this point. "Lorcan is going to see a lot more," she reminds her cousin. "You might want to get used to doing this with someone around. Besides, I need to tell you what to do, right?"

Dominique nods and slowly unbuttons her jeans, reassured by Lily's words. Lily tries not to stare, she really does, as the smooth skin of her cousins legs is slowly revealed. She averts her eyes and hopes Dominique doesn't notice her eyes flickering back to the girl's perfect thighs and delicate hipbones, clothed only in a small pair of polka-dot underwear.

"Um," she says uncomfortably, once Dom's jeans lie safely discarded upon the floor. "You'll um… underwear. As well. Probably." Who would have thought sentences were quite so difficult to put together?

Dominique hesitates but doesn't protest this time. Slowly but surely, the polka-dot fabric is pulling down. Lily would like to say that she respects her cousin's privacy and does her best not to look, but she does get a tantalizing glimpse of perfectly-sculpted thighs meeting just-as-well-made hips, with a small patch of hair hiding what lay between there.

Dominique noticed her looking this time. She squeezes her legs closed and, if possible, turns even redder. "Sorry," Lily mutters, looking away.

"No," Dominique says bravely. Her legs loosen minutely. "It's alright. I gotta get used to it, right?"

"Would it be less awkward if we were both… naked?" Lily asks.

Dominique looks surprised at the suggestions. "Well, maybe," she says. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Lily wants to laugh at that. This whole thing is uncomfortable. "It's fine," she says. "It's fine if it'll be easier for you. Will it?"

Dominique looks away shyly. "Probably yeah," she murmurs.

Decided, Lily pulls of her pants and top, so she's standing there in just her bra and underwear; she wishes she'd worn some nicer undergarments. Her actions are much bolder than she feels, and she resists the impulse to cross her arms self-consciously. It's alright for Dominique; she's beautiful. Even if she wasn't part-Veela, she'd still be the most beautiful girl Lily had ever seen.

But Lily isn't like that. She's alright-looking. She's pretty, in the girl-next-door sort of way. She'll get by, but she'll never be like Dominique.

Dominique is almost shaking as she pulls off her top, and Lily quickly rids herself of her underpants while her cousin isn't looking. When the blonde has fought free of the tight fabric, Lily looks at her demurely. "Undo my bra?" she asks, turning her back and lifting her hair so the other girl can see the clasp. With shaking but delicate fingers, Dominique does as she's bid and undoes Lily's bra. It drops to the floor and Lily turns back around.

"Shall I do yours?" Lily murmurs, and Dominique nods. It's all so much easier now they're wearing next to nothing; everything just slots into place. Her fingers slowly fumble at the clasp, somehow managing to only half undo it. Then it's open and, as Dominique rotates on the bed so they're facing each other once more, it falls away and they stand there in front of each other; unclothed, unguarded. It's just them.

_I love you,_ Lily wants to say. She does, and she knows it. She loves the delicate nape of Dom's neck. She loves the way her hair shimmers with the slightest movement of her head. She loves the way her arms raise almost by themselves to cross protectively over her chest.

And she loves more than that. Things that she can't see right now, but she knows are an integral part of her cousin. The way she chews her lip when she's nervous – actually, she's doing that now, Lily notices. It's understandable. She loves how Dominique blushes whenever anything less-than-decent is mentioned. She loves the way Dominique's eyes dance when she laughs; she loves how easily she can make her laugh. She likes those eyes dancing for her.

And it's not fair, because she loves Dominique more than Lorcan ever will. She shouldn't think of that, she knows. But it's true, and she wishes that she could tell Dominique that.

"Now what?" Dominique asks, startling Lily from her reverie.

"Oh," Lily says. She realises how awkwardly close they are and backs back to the chair by the bed. "Um… maybe you should lie down?"

As Dominique does that, Lily takes the opportunity to re-orientate herself. It doesn't matter that Dominique loves Lorcan, she thinks. He'll never have this moment with her. Lily will be her first.

Bolstered by this thought, Lily's voice grows more certain. "Are you comfortable?" she asks.

"Yeah," Dominique says, a little breathless.

"Right." Lily flounders for a moment before finding herself. "Um, picture something nice."

"Nice? Like… puppies?"

Lily can't hold back a laugh. "Definitely not puppies," she says. "Try… thinking of Lorcan. Imagine him kissing you." The words almost choke her.

"Okay," Dominique says.

There's quiet for a moment. "How's that going?" Lily asks.

"Alright, I suppose…" Dominique says.

Lily sighs. "Right. Imagine something that turns you on."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, do I?" she asks. "Um… run your hands down your body and pretend it's him doing it. Or imagine you're running them down his body."

Dominique does that. "I've done that," she says.

"Are you feeling anything?" Lily asks.

"Not really."

Lily is lost for a moment. "Maybe you're just not the foreplay sort of person," she tries eventually. "How about we just get straight into it?"

"Alright."

"Put your hand between your legs."

Dominique's hand slinks down her body. Lily tries, and fails, not to watch. "Okay," Dominique says once her hand's between her legs. "Now what."

Lily pauses. How do you describe what to do next? What does she usually do? She thinks about that for a moment and then blushes. Usually by this time she's thinking of Dominique. "Um, just sort of… feel around," she says lamely, looking everywhere but at where Dominique's hand is. Her eyes fall instead on Dominique's breasts that are jiggling slightly as Dominique moves her hand. Her mouth is dry; she licks her lips.

"I don't think it's working, Lily," Dominique says.

Lily hesitates. "If you…" she trails off, reluctant to finish the sentence.

"If I…?" Dominique presses.

"If it isn't too weird, I can show you," Lily says in a rush. "You know… properly."

Dominique is quiet for a moment. Then, in a voice almost too small to hear… "Okay," she whispers.

Lily exhales sharply; she hadn't even realised she'd been holding her breath. Slowly she approaches the bed and sits awkwardly next to her cousin's open legs. "Okay," she says softly. "I'm going to touch you now."

She gently lays her hand on Dom's leg, slowly running it up her thigh. Dominique shivers a little and squirms; Lily allows herself a small but victorious smile.

"Tell me what feels good," she says.

"This feels good," Dominique says shyly. "You, touching me."

Lily's stomach clenches at that. "That's good," she murmurs. Slowly her hand moves up further, until she can feel Dominique's hair brushing her fingers. Gently, oh-so-gently, the tips of her fingers push up against Dominique's core.

Dominique lets out a small gasp and Lily notes with interest that, despite Dominique saying it wasn't working, she's already a little wet. "Is that okay?" she asks nervously.

"'S fine," Dominique murmurs.

She slowly rubs her hand over her cousin before slipping a finger inside her folds. Dominique gasps and squirms slightly – which does make it a little difficult for Lily. "That felt good," she gasps.

A small smile flickers over Lily's face. Already she has an idea of what she's brushed over. She sinks her finger in once more and feels around until she finds that little nub she touched upon. Gently she strokes it.

"Oh, Merlin," Dominique breathes, moving her hips on reflex.

Lily giggles. "That's your clitoris," she informs Dominique. "Feels good, no?"

Dominique just lets out a strangled noise as Lily continues to rub it. "Don't stop," she gasps.

"Wasn't planning to," Lily tells her cheerfully.

This continues for some time; Lily stroking her cousin, Dominique trying not to squirm, and Lily trying not to show exactly how much the situation she's in is arousing her. Dominique's breath comes in small pants, and every now and then she'll throw back her head and let out a small moan.

Lily squirms a little on the bed, pressing her thighs together in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure building down there. She wants to touch herself as well, but she knows she can't – it'd just be too weird for Dominique.

Slowly her finger slips further down Dominique's opening, pressing around for the spot she knows will allow her finger to slip inside her. At the loss of the pleasurable sensation, Dominique's eyes, which had mostly been shut, opened in surprise. "Why did you stop?" she asks.

"I thought…" Lily says, "Seeing as you want to do… _things _with Lorcan," she couldn't quite bring herself to call it sex, "you should probably get used to something being inside you."

"Oh," says Dominique. "Okay."

Lily continues, and it's not long before Dominique lets out a gasp as Lily slips her finger inside of her without warning. "Are you okay?" she asks quickly, concerned. Thank Merlin she remembered to trim her fingernails

"Fine," said Dominique, her discomfort showing on her face and in her voice. "It's just a little… weird."

"Does it hurt?" Lily asked, wriggling her finger ever-so-slightly.

"It doesn't really hurt…" Dominique says.

"But you're not enjoying it?" Lily says, pulling her finger out.

"No, don't-" Dominique says, but Lily had already removed it. "I mean, I have to get used to it right? Because that's what Lorcan will do."

Lily forces a laugh. "Sweetie, he'll be putting a lot more than a finger in there," she tells her cousin.

Dominique looks worried, and Lily immediately feels bad. "You don't have to stuff you don't like with him," she hastens to reassure her. "If you don't like doing that, then just tell him 'no'."

"But… won't he expect to?" Dominique asks Lily. "If we have sex, won't he want to have it properly?"

"Fuck what he wants," says Lily. "It's your vagina."

This startles a laugh out of Dominique. "I wish I was more like you," she tells her cousin. "I could never say that to someone."

Lily grinned at the idea of her shy, softly-spoken cousin telling Lorcan that. "Well, you can decide about Lorcan later," she tells Dominique. "Now would you still like to experience an orgasm?"

Dominique nods shyly. "Alright then," Lily says, business-like once more. Her hand slips between Dom's legs again and she finds the clitoris almost immediately. "How's that?"

Lily assumes it's pretty good seeing as Dominique is already moaning.

It took much less time to get Dominique worked up this time; maybe because they'd already been doing this before, maybe because she was more relaxed, or maybe because there was a lot more wetness to lubricate Lily's motions. Regardless of the reason, though, it wasn't long before Dominique was unable to lie still on the bed from the pleasure she was receiving. Lily was guessing she was close to orgasm.

"I- uh, feel strange, Lils," Dominique says as Lily's motions speed up.

"Just let it happen," says Lily.

"Oh, Merlin," Dominique gasps, and then her entire body is shuddering and jerking and Lily watches with wide eyes, hand still moving between her cousin's legs, as the other girl orgasms beneath her.

Eventually her body stills. "Ah, Lily," Dominique says, squirming slightly. "You can stop now. It sort of tickles."

Belatedly Lily realises her fingers are still massaging Dom's clit and she instantly withdraws her hand. "Sorry," she says.

"It's okay," replied Dominique, giggling slightly. She looks very comfortable on the bed and is showing no signs of moving, so Lily throws herself down on the white sheets beside her. "I feel tired now," Dominique says, closing her eyes.

Lily should have known better than to do what she does next, but for some reason she just can't help herself. Dominique is looking so soft and beautiful, spread-eagled on the bed as she comes down from the orgasm Lily had given her.

She kisses her.

The moment their lips touch, Lily feels Dominique's body tense and sees her eyes fly open. Instantly, the red-head withdraws.

"Lily!" Dominique exclaims, sitting up. "What the hell was that?"

"I- I don't know," Lily stutters as her cousin leaps off the bed. "I just-" But she has no words to finish the sentence.

"We can't!" Dominique says, pulling on her clothes frantically. "It's wrong! We're cousins!"

"Oh, kissing's wrong now, is it?" Lily asks, trying to suppress the pain of rejection. "What we just did was _fine_, but Merlin forbid we _kiss_."

"That's- that's different!" exclaims Dominique. "That was just… helping out, or whatever. It wasn't romantic or anything." She's fully dressed now, and the disconnected part of Lily's brain notes that her cousin has never been ready so quickly before.

"Dominique, please wait," Lily begs as her cousin grabs her shoes and hastily forces them on her feet. "Please don't go."

"I can't do this, Lily." Her voice breaks and it's at that point Lily realises they're both on the brink of crying. "I can't. It's wrong. And I have to go."

She whirls around and hastens out the door, leaving Lily sitting in the middle of a messy bed with tears rolling down her cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

Lily is, overall, an action sort of girl. She likes meeting challenges head on. If there's a problem, she likes finding and executing a solution.

She does _not_ like sitting around doing nothing.

She likes it even less when it's almost physically painful to do so. But over the next few weeks, she finds she doesn't have a choice in the matter. After Dominique fled from the Room of Requirement, Lily had made her own miserable way back to the dormitory where she proceeded to sulk for the rest of the night. She had skipped breakfast, instead going straight to Charms where Dominique had not been sitting in their usual seat – but with Lorcan. She tried to talk to her after class was over, but Dominique left almost faster than was physically possible.

It made Lily feel as though there was a glass wall between them; she could see Dominique, but no sound passed between them.

It would have been alright if the wall was a temporary thing. But the hours torturously turned into days, and the days turned into weeks. Over two weeks passed before Lily registered any change, and she felt each moment of it like she was holding a red-hot poker against her cheek.

"Hey Lily," a deep voice says from beside her as a blond boy slides into the adjacent seat. Lily doesn't need to look up to know who's speaking; she does, however, need to make a conscious effort to keep her metaphorical hackles from rising.

"I'm studying," she says, not looking up from the neat, calligraphic letters her quill makes on the page.

_Dominique's handwriting is prettier,_ she can't help thinking.

"Oh," Lorcan says. "This won't take long."

"Fine," Lily bites out, still not looking at him.

For a few long seconds he doesn't say a word, and then they tumble out of his mouth in a rush. "Have you and Dominique had a fight or something?"

Lily's hand pauses, although her eyes still remained glued to the parchment. "What makes you say that?" she asks lowly.

"You used to be really tight," Lorcan says, "and now you hardly speak to each other. And Dominique's been really down recently."

Was it wrong for a small bubble of happiness to form in Lily's chest at that news? "Why don't you ask her about it?" she asked Lorcan. "She's _your _girlfriend."

"She just changes the subject," Lorcan says. "Or tells me that it's nothing. But it's not, isn't it?"

Lily dries her quill and corks her ink bottle. "Look," she says, scooping up her stuff and shoving it back in her bag. "If Dominique won't tell you what's going on, then I really don't think it's my place." And with that, she stands up and strides past the blond sitting beside her.

"Lily!" Lorcan calls from behind her. Against her better sense, Lily turns. "What did I do to make you hate me so much?" he asks in a lower voice.

She's surprised. "I don't hate you," she says. _Or do I? _a small voice inside her mind whispers.

"Then where did all this animosity come from?" Lorcan asks. "You were perfectly cordial to me, once. And then about a month ago you started talking to me as though I was mud on the sole of your shoe."

_You started dating the girl I love,_ Lily wants to say to him, but she doesn't. Instead, in the most expressionless voice she can muster, she tells him, "I'm sorry, I never realised. I'll try not to in future."

Then she turns around again and walks away. He doesn't call out after her again and, even if he had, she wouldn't have stopped.

* * *

The holidays come faster than she would have expected – all too soon, her trunk is packed. Before she can blink she's stepping off the train with Albus and seeing their parents waiting for them.

Usually she enjoys spending the holidays at home, but the black cloud of Dominique hangs over her and she spends the majority of her time in her room, lying on her bed and listening to a combination if wizarding music and muggle music she bought from the town close to where she lives. Her mother tries to talk to her at first, but soon realises that she's getting nowhere and gives up.

It isn't until a few days before they go back to Hogwarts that anything changes. She's lying face down on her bed when the sound of footsteps reverberates through her room. She knows it's someone coming to see her; her room is on the top floor. The only other place they could be going is the attic, and no one ever goes up there.

Sure enough, the door creaks open. She feels annoyed that they didn't even knock, and even more annoyed that they're bothering her at all.

"Piss off," she says, but it's muffled by the pillows over her mouth.

"Lily?" And that voice is beautiful, like music to her ears, because it's Dominique's voice, and she'd drink it like wine if only she could. "We need to talk."

-THE END-

**A/N: This wasn't where I intended to end this story, but as of now I am wrapping up (as far as possible) all my fanfictions and posting the last I've written due to the fact I am withdrawing from . Thank you very much to all my readers and reviewers – you've kept me writing on this site for over three years now, and I could never have got this far without you. Thanks to you, my writing has improved dramatically and I've posted over 300,000 words – a feat I never could have accomplished without your support. A special shout out to Quill Scribblings, who always reviewed everything I posted and often left very detailed feedback. Thank you!**


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